Surprising that nobody is talking about Race 38's performance with the new modifications. Based on all the pre-races buzz 'round here about #38, I figured there'd be all sorts of talk now after race week. But....tumbleweeds.
From the competition perspective, they had a pretty uninspired performance compared to the "big names". Their qual speed was 23 MPH slower this year than last year, although their race speed Saturday was 24 MPH faster than last year (444 vs 420). Obviously, the great news is that they had a safe year and didn't break anything significant, but the off season mods did not appear to significantly improve overall speed. In "the big show" Thom and 38 were 48 mph average slower, and took almost a minute longer to complete the race, than Voodoo.
By now we all know that this talk of the "ferry engine" vs "race engine" was just a fun bit of disinformation (to an extent), but I have to guess that the somewhat last-minute hybrid engine that they ran with was part of the story. Fortunately, there were no serious breakages, but there was a thrash on Friday to replace a camshaft. Reports on Thursday said that the ADI schedule was putting too much of it in, causing the engine to produce less power and thus the lower qual speed. I never heard if this was changed/fixed, or if it was a factor in the race speeds on Sat and Sun.
My personal impression: obviously the 38 crew has put a LOT of effort and love into the off-season modifications. With respect to the modifications, the new scoop, wingtips, and wing root fairings sure looked good. I can't say I am a fan of the new side-opening canopy, but I absolutely love the new EFIS instrument panel. There was lots of discussion about the paintjob, with opinions falling all over the map. Some loved it, some hated it, but most just sort of shrugged their shoulders and said it wasn't really their cup o'tea. Personally, I'm always of the opinion that the guy who writes the checks to own and operate the airplane can choose to paint it however he pleases. Overall, I say excellent job to everyone who obviously poured a lot of time and effort into making the off-season changes and working their butts off to get the airplane to Reno on time.
Although I'm a long-time critic of the N6WJ airframe, I have to say that the airplane has to now be in better shape than it has ever been. Even though there are still issues to be worked out (like the non-standard hydraulic and uplock system in the main gear that caused some issues early in the week), it is clearly a much safer and cared for airplane today than ever. This I am extremely happy to see, and hope that Thom Richard and crew continue to work on it this upcoming off season and continue to unlock the airframe's potential.
Hopefully @Wild Bill Kelso can drop in here and let us know how it went from their perspective.
From the competition perspective, they had a pretty uninspired performance compared to the "big names". Their qual speed was 23 MPH slower this year than last year, although their race speed Saturday was 24 MPH faster than last year (444 vs 420). Obviously, the great news is that they had a safe year and didn't break anything significant, but the off season mods did not appear to significantly improve overall speed. In "the big show" Thom and 38 were 48 mph average slower, and took almost a minute longer to complete the race, than Voodoo.
By now we all know that this talk of the "ferry engine" vs "race engine" was just a fun bit of disinformation (to an extent), but I have to guess that the somewhat last-minute hybrid engine that they ran with was part of the story. Fortunately, there were no serious breakages, but there was a thrash on Friday to replace a camshaft. Reports on Thursday said that the ADI schedule was putting too much of it in, causing the engine to produce less power and thus the lower qual speed. I never heard if this was changed/fixed, or if it was a factor in the race speeds on Sat and Sun.
My personal impression: obviously the 38 crew has put a LOT of effort and love into the off-season modifications. With respect to the modifications, the new scoop, wingtips, and wing root fairings sure looked good. I can't say I am a fan of the new side-opening canopy, but I absolutely love the new EFIS instrument panel. There was lots of discussion about the paintjob, with opinions falling all over the map. Some loved it, some hated it, but most just sort of shrugged their shoulders and said it wasn't really their cup o'tea. Personally, I'm always of the opinion that the guy who writes the checks to own and operate the airplane can choose to paint it however he pleases. Overall, I say excellent job to everyone who obviously poured a lot of time and effort into making the off-season changes and working their butts off to get the airplane to Reno on time.
Although I'm a long-time critic of the N6WJ airframe, I have to say that the airplane has to now be in better shape than it has ever been. Even though there are still issues to be worked out (like the non-standard hydraulic and uplock system in the main gear that caused some issues early in the week), it is clearly a much safer and cared for airplane today than ever. This I am extremely happy to see, and hope that Thom Richard and crew continue to work on it this upcoming off season and continue to unlock the airframe's potential.
Hopefully @Wild Bill Kelso can drop in here and let us know how it went from their perspective.
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